The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago had decided that holding a graduation ceremony in an evangelical Christian church under a large cross violated the rights of students and parents of other faiths.

By a 7-2 vote, the justices refused to hear a Wisconsin school district's appeal of that ruling.

The appeal had been pending for more than a year, and the justices repeatedly considered it in private conferences. In the interim, they handed down a 5-4 decision upholding Christian prayers at public meetings of a town council.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, speaking for the court, said in that case that a prayer or invocation did not amount to an establishment of religion, even if it was delivered by a Christian cleric.

@AngelaBirch - I know you don't care about reality, but since some do, I am going to point out your error. The court did not rule on the case. Only two justices agreed to take the case. You need four justices to agree for certiorari to be granted. No arguments were held.

The graduation case from Elmbrook, Wis., gave the justices an opportunity to extend that rationale to public schools. But after considering the issue for several weeks, the justices turned down the school district's appeal, over a dissent by Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

Scalia said the court should have set aside the appeals court ruling.

Lawyers in the case said public high schools in several states hold graduation ceremonies in churches.

Though Monday's dismissal of an appeal is not a formal ruling, it may prompt judges to look skeptically at such arrangements.

An evangelical advocacy group expressed dismay about the court's decision not to hear the case.

“Church buildings should not be treated like toxic warehouses simply because they normally house religious activities," the Alliance Defending Freedom said in a statement.

The Supreme Court said Monday that city councils and other public boards are free to open their meetings with an explicitly Christian prayer, ruling that judges may not act as "censors of religious speech" simply because the prayers reflect the views of the dominant faith.

A week after President Obama's 2012 reelection, the conservative Federalist Society gathered 1,500 lawyers in black tie to hear one of their own, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., vow to hold the line against an ever-expanding federal government that "towers over people."

Nurse Nina Pham — once the upbeat face of the Dallas hospital that confronted the country’s first Ebola case — sued the hospital’s parent company Monday, alleging that it had failed to protect her before and after she was diagnosed with the deadly disease last fall.

With no political solution in sight, Congress faces another deadline to fund the Homeland Security Department by midnight Friday – a do-over of last week's bitter battle as Republicans try to stop President Obama's immigration plans.

Hours after Tamir Rice’s family angrily criticized Cleveland for contending in legal documents that the 12-year-old was to blame for his death at the hands of a police officer, the mayor apologized Monday and said the city would amend its court filing.